Method of and means for making bound garment openings



May 22, 1962 s. o. ORTHWIN 3,035,745

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR MAKING BOUND GARMENT OPENINGS Filed Jan. 16,1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Unprinted side-Pattern l J--- I-- C I: I

Wrong side- Fabric Right side- Garment i Wrong side- Fabric 3 Rightside- Fobric Press '60 fight SldB- Garmeni SIDNEY O. ORTHWIN IN VEN TOR.

fight side-Germ nt y 1962 s. o. ORTHWIN 3,035,745

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR MAKING BOUND GARMENT OPENINGS Filed Jan. 16,1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ll 'h INVENTOR.

SI DN EY O. ORTHWIN 3,035,745 METHOD OF AND lVIEANS FOR MAKING BOUNDGARMENT OPENINGS Sidney O. Orthwin, 3665 Seiber St., Dayton 5, OhioFiled Jan. 16, 1958, Ser. No. 709,371 4 Claims. (Cl. 223-1) The presentinvention relates to an improved method of making bound garmentopenings, e.g. bound buttonholes, and means for use in connectiontherewith.

Heretofore known methods an devices for making bound buttonholes haverequired elaborate, difi'icult and detailed measurements and/or markingsand great skill in execution. This is due to the fact that the problemsinvolved in the making of bound buttonholes are rather manifold. In thefirst place it is necessary that the stitch lines be parallel andprecisely of the same length. Furthermore, the stitch lines must beplaced directly one above the other so that when a line is drawn fromthe end of one stitch line to the nearest end of the other stitch line,it will form a right angle therewith. In addition thereto, the stitchlines must be spaced correctly not only with regard to each other butthey must also be equi-distantly spaced from the folded edges of thebinding strips so that the two lips of the finished buttonhole willsubstantially meet and be of equal width.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a methodof making bound garment openings which will solve each and every one ofthe above mentioned problems in a simple and highly satisfactory man nerso as to result in a neat appearing bound buttonhole.

It is another object of this invention to provide a method of makingbound garment openings and means for use in connection therewith, whichwill enable even the lay sewer to make bound garment openings that areneat and accurate and can be accomplished with a minimum of effort anddexterity and in a minimum of time.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear moreclearly from the following specification in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top View of a finished bound buttonhole made according tothe present invention.

FIGS. 2 to 12 illustrate in proper sequence the various steps of themethod according to the present invention for making a bound buttonhole;FIG. 9a being a section along the line IXaIXa of FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a top view of a buttonhole overlay or buttonhole gauge foruse in connection with the method according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a top View of a spacing gauge according to the invention foruse in connection with the method according to the invention.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the spacing gauge according to FIG. 14.

One of the main characteristics of the present invention consists in theprovision and employment of a spacing gauge which following certaininitial steps in the making of the bound garment opening will preciselydetermine the eventual location of the lips of the bound garment openingso that in the finished bound garment opening the two lips thereof willbe of equal width and will substanitally meet.

A further characteristic feature of the present invention Ynited StatesPatent consists in the employment of a certain type of garment iceReferring now to the drawings in detail and FIG. 1 thereof inparticular, this figure shows a bound buttonhole as it can be made bythe method according to the present invention. In this FIGURE thereference numerals 1 and 2 respectively designate the upper and loweredges of the upper lip of the bound buttonhole, and the referencenumerals 3 and 4 respectively designate the upper and lower edges of thelower lip. The left-hand and right-hand edges of the bound buttonhole asshown in FIG. 1 are designated with the reference numerals 5 and 6respectively. The character G designates the garment which has beenprovided with the button hole according to the invention. In order tomake a bound buttonhole according to FIG. 1, the length and location ofthe buttonhole to be made is marked on the right side of the garment.This mark is represented in FIG. 2 by the heavy line 7. Then thebuttonhole mark 7 is by means of tailors chalk, thread or the likeextended at each end for instance by as indicated by the dot-dash lines7a and 712. Following this step, a line or mark 8 is made perpendicularto the line 7 so that the mark or its extention goes through one end,e.g. the right-hand end of line 7. This mark 8 may extend for instance1" above and 1 below line 7.

Following these steps of marking the right side of the garment G, abuttonhole overlay according to the present invention as illustrated forinstance in FIG. 13 and generally designated with the reference numeral9 is selected. This overlay or gauge, which may be of paper, has printedthereon lines 10 and 11 which represent marks for stitch lines whichstitch lines eventually form the edges 1 and 4 for the lips of the boundbuttonhole of FIG. 1. In other words the spacing of said stitch linessubstantially equals the distance between the outer edges 1 and 4 of thelips. The buttonhole overlay 9 of FIG. 13 furthermore has printedthereon lines 8a and 8b and a line 70. These lines 8a and 811 byalignment with the marks 8 on the garment G (FIG. 4) in cooperation withthe alignment of line 70 (FIG. 13) with the marks 7a and 7b on thegarment G will later properly locate the buttonhole pattern 9 withregard to the garment G.

Prior to the said aligning operation, a buttonhole strip 12 (FIG. 3) iscut from a piece of desired fabric to substantially the size of thebuttonhole overlay 9. Thereupon, the buttonhole overlay 9 with itsunprinted or unmarked side is placed upon the wrong side of the thus cutbuttonhole strip 12 as indicated in FIG. 3. The buttonhole overlay 9thus placed upon the buttonhole strip 12 is attached to the latter,preferably by baste stitching along the line 7c (FIG. 13) on thebuttonhole pattern 9 as shown in FIG. 3. The baste stitching isindicated in FIG. 3 by the reference numeral 13.

The buttonhole overlay 9 with the buttonhole strip 12 attached theretois now placed on the right side of the garment G (FIG. 4) so that themarks 8a, 8b are in alignment with the marks 8 while the baste stitching13 is in alignment with the marks 7a and 7b.

After this alignment has been efiected, the bottonhole strip 12 with thebuttonhole overlay 9 attached thereto is temporarily connected to theright side of the garment G (FIG. 5). This may be effected, forinstance, by slightly raising the upper and lower edges of thebuttonhole overlay 9 as shown in FIG. 5 and pinning the buttonhole strip12 from underneath the buttonhole overlay 9 by means of pins 14 to thegarment G. Thereupon the raised portions of the buttonhole overlay 9 areallowed to move back into substantially fiat position on the buttonholestrip 12. The buttonhole strip 12 with the overlay 9 attached thereto isnow stitched to the garment G by stitching along the marks 10 and 11(FIG.

'means of an ordinary household iron.

13) of the buttonhole overlay 9 (as shown in FIG. 5). These stitches aredesignated in FIG. 5 with the reference numerals 20 and 21 and shouldstop exactly at each end of the lines 1% and 11. The baste stitching 13previously applied to hold the buttonhole pattern 9 to the buttonholestrip 12 is then removed and also the overlay 9 is removed and torn offfrom the buttonhole strip 12. p 7

The next step in the method according to the present invention isperformed in cooperation with a spacing gauge generally designated S andshown by way of example in FIGS. 14 and 15. This spacing gauge S iscomposed of a strip 15, for instance a steel strip having a thickness of0.010", and a narrower strip- 16 of preferably similar material. Thewider strip is provided with two holes 17 and 18 which are arranged n arbut spaced from the ends of the strip 15. These holes 17 and 18 may besquare or rectangular and have a Width very slightly wider than thewidth of the narrower strip so as to allow the latter just to be passedtherethrough. Two opposite sides of each of the holes 17 and 18 areparallel to the longitudinal edge portions 15a and 15b of the strip 15so that when the strip 16 has been passed through the holes 17 and 18,the edge portions 16a and 16b of the strip 16 will for all practicalpurposes be parallel to the edge portions 15a and 15b of the strip 15.The arrangement will then be such that the narrow strip 16 and the widerstrip 15 will be so located with regard to each other that thelongitudinal line of symmetry of stripv 16 will be in alignment with thelongitudinal line of symmetry of strip 15. In other words, in thespecific showing of the FIG. 14, the distance between the parallel edgeportions 15b and 16b equals the distance between the parallel edgeportions 15a and 16a. The strips 15 and 15 may be connected to eachother at one end thereof in any convenient manner, for instance by arivet 19. However, it is to be understood that such a connection is notnecessary for the present invention and is efi'ected merely in order tofacilitate the handling of the spacing gauge S.

Referring now to FIG. 6 illustrating the next step in applicants method.inconnection with the spacing gauge S of FIGS. 14. and 15, it will beremembered that according to the method step last described inconnection with FIG. 5, two rows of stitches 20 and 21 were obtained bysewing along the marks 11) and 11 of the buttonhole overlay 9, whereuponthe baste stitching. 13 and also the overlay 9 were removed. Now thenarrow strip 16 of'the spacing gauge S is unlatched and inserted intothe small passage confined'by the two .rows of stitching 21 and 21 andby the right side of the garment and the right side of the buttonholestrip. After the narrow strip 16 has thus been inserted as shown in FIG.6, the open end of the narrow strip 16 is latched to the wider strip 15by flexing the narrow strip and inserting its free end into and throughthe hole 18 as indicated in dotdash lines in FIG. 6, so that the twostrips 15 and 16 of the spacing gauge S are approximately in theposition showninFIG. 15.

The next step concerns the forming of the lips of the bound buttonhole.To this end, first one side of the buttonhole strip 12, for instancethat part of the buttonhole strip 12 which is below the lower edge 15awhen viewing FIG. 7, is folded about and firmly held against said. edge15a as shown in FIG. 7, and that portion of the just mentioned foldedpart which is adjacent the edge 15:: is pressed in convenient manner,for instance by It will be obvious that in this way a crease is formedin the buttonhole strip 12 along the edge 15a. The last mentioned foldedpart of the buttonhole strip 12 is then moved out of the way while theoppositely located portion of the buttonhole strip 12 is similarlyfolded and pressed about the edge 15b of the spacing gauge S. In thisway a corresponding crease is formed in the buttonhole strip 12 alongthe edge 15b. Following this operation, the narrower strip 16 isunlatched from the hole 18, and the entire spacing gauge S is withdrawnfrom the buttonhole strip 12 and the garment G. Thereupon, in conformitywith FIG. 8, the buttonhole strip 12 is slashed through from one end tothe other end between the two stitch lines 21) and 21, without, however,cutting into the garment G. The buttonhole strip 12 is thus cut into twoportions or flaps namely 12a and 1217. It should be noted in thisconnection that the slash thus effected need not necessarily beprecisely along a center line between the two stitch lines 29 and 21.The main point is that the slash does not cut the stitch lines 21} and21. Thereupon the garment G with the now slashed buttonhole strip 12connected by the stitch lines 26 and 21 to the garment G is turned sothat the wrong side of the garment G will now be up, while the flaps12a, 12b will hang down as indicatedin FIGS. 9 and 9a. The garment G isnow slashed between the stitch lines 20, 21, preferably to within aboutA" of each end of the stitch lines and then diagonally to just about theend of the stitch lines as shown in FIG. 9. 'In this connection, caremust be taken not to cut into the stitching. Subsequently, from theright side of the garment G, first one flap, for instance flap 12b, andthen the other flap 12a are passed all the way through the slash in thegarment G to the wrong side thereof. As a result thereof, the lips ofthe bound buttonhole are formed and will for all practical purposesmeet. The right side of the garment G is then turned up in conformitywith FIG. 11, whereupon the lips are preferably catch-stitched together,as likewise shown in FIG. 11.

According to the next step of the method according to the presentinvention, the face of the garment G is folded back into FIG. 12position on aline approximately event with one end of the buttonhole andat a right angle to the buttonhole. Thereupon, first one of thetriangles 22, which were formed when slashing the garment G inconformity with FIGS. 9 and 9a, is stitched to the buttonhole stripportions or flaps 12a, 12b preferably three times, as close to the fold23 in the garment G as possible, as indicated in FIG. 12. In this way,the binding line 24 is formed. The same procedure is then repeated withthe other triangle. This completes the making of the bound buttonholeaccording to the present invention.

The bound buttonhole may then be faced in conformity with standardprocedures which, however, do not form a part of the present invention.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by nomeans, limited to the particular showing in the drawings but alsocomprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.Thus, the invention is, by no means, limited to the making ofbuttonholes but can equally well be applied to the making of moundopenings for pockets. It is, of course, to be understood that in such aninstance the buttonhole overlay shown in the drawings by way of examplewill correspondingly vary in size and that the spacing gauge will bedimensioned accordingly. It is also to be understood that the buttonholeoverlays would, of course, vary in conformity with the dimensions of thebound buttonhole to be produced. Furthermore, while the method has beendescribed in connection with buttonhole overlays in which the verticallines designated in the drawings with the reference numerals 8a and 8bare shown at the end of the buttonhole overlay, it is. also to beunderstood that these vertical lines could also be at any other place ofthe buttonhole overlay, in which instance, of course, the marks designedin FIG. 2 with the reference numeral 8 would have to be made at acorrespondingly difierent location.

While it is preferable and advantageous to design the garment openingoverlay 9 as it has been specifically shown in FIG. 13 with the marks8:: and 8b thereon, it is be understood that the marks 30 and 3b are notunder all circumstances necessary. If the marks 8a and 8b were omitted,the marks on the overlay 9 could still be properly lined up with themarks on the garment. To this end, the line 70 of the overlay 9 would asbefore be lined up with the marks 7a, 7b of the garment, whereas themark 8 would be lined up by means of a straight edge with thecorresponding ends of the lines 1% and 11.

It is also to be understood that, while the spacing gauge has itsmembers and 16 preferably made flexible and resilient, this is, by nomeans, necessary. As a mere example, the rivet 19 may be replaced by apivot, and the opening 18 may be cut open at one side so that the member16 can be pivoted about said pivot, and the free end of member .16 canbe caused to engage the opening 18 through the cut-open side thereof.Furthermore, the respective width of the members 15 and 16 does not haveto be the same throughout the entire length of said members. Forinstance, these members may become wider at the very end where the rivet19 is located if this should be desired.

What I claim is:

1. A spacing gauge for use in connection with the making of boundgarment openings, especially bound buttonholes and bound pocketopenings, which comprises: a first elongated member having a portionwith the longitudinal edges thereof parallel to each other and spacedfrom each other by a distance corresponding substantially to thedistance between the longitudinal stitch lines of the bound garmentopening to be made, and a second elongated member having a portion withthe longitudinal edges thereof spaced from each other by a distanceapproximately equaling twice the distance between said longitudinaledges of said first elongated member, said second elongated member beingprovided with guiding means spaced from the line of symmetry of saidsecond elongated member by substantially half the width of said firstelongated member for engagement with the longitudinal edge thereofwhereby said elongated members are engageable with each other so as tolocate and arrest said first elongated member substantiallysymmetrically with regard to the longitudinal line of symmetry of saidsecond elongated member.

2. A spacing gauge for use in connection with the making of boundgarment openings, especially bound buttonholes and bound pocketopenings, which comprises: a first elongated member having a portionwith the longitudinal edges thereof parallel to each other and spacedfrom each other by a distance corresponding substantially to thedistance between the longitudinal stitch lines of the bound garmentopening to be made, and a second elongated member having a portion withthe longitudinal edges thereof spaced from each other by a distanceapproximately equaling twice the distance between said longitudinaledges of said first elongated member, said elongated members beinginterconnected at one end thereof and free at the other ends, and saidsecond elongated member having at the free end thereof a slot withoppositely located parallel edges arranged substantially symmetricallywith regard to the longitudinal line of symmetry of said secondelongated member and spaced from each other by a distance only veryslightly greater than the distance between said longitudinal edges ofsaid first elon ated member just suificient to allow the free end ofsaid first elongated member to pass through said slot so that thelongitudinal lines of symmetry of both elongated members are held insubstantial alignment with each other.

3. A spacing gauge for use in connection with the making of boundgarment openings, especially bound buttonholes and bound pocketopenings, which comprises: a first elongated member having a portionwith the longitudinal edges thereof parallel to each other and spacedfrom each other by a distance corresponding substantially to thedistance between the longitudinal stitch lines of the bound garmentopening to be made, and a second elongated member having a POILiQH withthe longitudinal edges thereof spaced from each other by a distanceapproximately equaling twice the distance between said longitudinaledges of said first elongated member, at least one of said elongatedmembers being flexible and resilient, that portion of said secondelongated member which is located between the parailel longitudinaledges of said second elongated member being provided with two slotsspaced from each other in longitudinal direction of said secondelongated member and arranged symmetrically to the longitudinal line ofsymmetry of said second elongated member, each of said slots having twooppositely located edges parallel to each other and to the longitudinalline of symmetry of said second elongated member and spaced from eachother by a distance just sufficient to allow that portion of saidelongated member which is provided with said parallel longitudinal edgesto pass through said slots so that the longitudinal lines of symmetry ofboth elongated mcmbers are held in substantial alignment with eachother.

4. A spacing gauge according to claim 3, which includes rivet meansinterconnecting said elongated members at one end thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,141,761 Brown June 1, 1915 1,416,801 Duesler May 23, 1922 2,533,467Johnson Dec. 12, 1950 2,584,051 Rose Jan. 29, 1952 2,756,434 Rick et a1July 3 1, 1956 2,767,673 Gouch Oct. 23, 1956 2,810,205 Beck Oct. 22,1957 2,814,126 Berardinelli Nov. 26, 1957 2,814,265 Burgess Nov. 26,1957 2,824,530 Katz Feb. 25, 1958

